NY winery releases 9/11 memorial wines

A Long Island winery has released two wines to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Produced by Lieb Family Cellars, the limited edition Memorial Commemorative Merlot 2010 is barrel-fermented, while the Memorial Commemorative Chardonnay 2010 is stainless steel-fermented.

The wines, which retail for US$19.11 each, have the stamp of approval from the 9/11 Memorial Foundation, which worked closely with the winery to develop the label.

Both were made from grapes grown 90 miles from the site of the World Trade Center.

10% of the proceeds from the sale of the wines will go to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

The winery also offers a less expensive wine – September Mission Merlot, priced at US$9.11 a bottle, 91.1 cents of which goes to the September Mission Foundation.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, general manager of Lieb Family Cellars Gary Madden, said sales of the 9/11 Memorial Commemorative wines had got off to a slow start, but the winery has had a lot of success with the September Mission Merlot, which it introduced in 2004.

“We’ve donated around $25,000 from that wine,” he said. “It’s just another tool for the Memorial Foundation to use as they fundraise. People have different ways of grieving and giving back. I’m not making money, I just want good will,” Madden added.

Not everyone supports the idea of the wine, with some believing the winery to be exploiting other people’s misfortune.

“I think it’s dwelling on the misery of others, and I don’t think it’s a good label,” said one New Yorker at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, while another site visitor commented: “If they do want it to be helpful, they should be donating more than 10%.”